Crystal structures of glutathione- and inhibitor-bound human GGT1: Critical interactions within the cysteinylglycine binding site.

Overexpression of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT1) has been implicated in an array of humandiseases including asthma, reperfusion injury,and cancer. Inhibitors are needed for therapy, butdevelopment of potent, specific inhibitors ofGGT1 has been hampered by a lack of structuralinformation regarding substrate binding andcleavage. To enhance our understanding of themolecular mechanism of substrate cleavage, wehave solved the crystal structures of humanGGT1 (hGGT1) with glutathione (a substrate)and a phosphate-glutathione analog (anirreversible inhibitor) bound in the active site.These are the first structures of any eukaryoticGGT with the cysteinylglycine region of thesubstrate-binding site occupied. These structuresand the structure of apo-hGGT reveal movementof amino acid residues within the active site as thesubstrate binds. Asn-401 and Thr-381 each formhydrogen bonds with two atoms of GSH spanningthe γ-glutamyl bond. Three different atoms ofhGGT1 interact with the carboxyl-oxygen of thecysteine of GSH. Interactions between theenzyme and substrate change as the substratemoves deeper into the active site cleft. Thesubstrate reorients and a new hydrogen bond isformed between the substrate and the oxyanionhole. Thr-381 is locked into a singleconformation as an acyl bond forms between thesubstrate and the enzyme. These data provideinsight on a molecular level into the substratespecificity of hGGT1 and provide an explanationfor seemingly disparate observations regardingthe enzymatic activity of hGGT1 mutants. Thisknowledge will aid in the design of clinicallyuseful hGGT1 inhibitors.